The Second Male Lead is Actually a Girl

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But she was still staring at me.

That intense focus was so absurd and cute that I burst into laughter.

“Puha. What are you two doing?”

In an instant, their conversation stopped.

Both Vivian, sitting on the sofa, and Theodore standing next to me, stared at me.

Theodore slowly reached out and touched the space between my eyebrows.

“It finally relaxed.”

“Pardon?”

“You've been making a serious face and have been furrowing here since a while ago.”

Theodore created a deep furrow between his eyebrows as if imitating my expression from before.

“You look much better now.”

It wasn't just my eyebrows that Theodore relaxed. It felt like my overall vision brightened in an instant.

Yes. The story has already changed.

Intentionally or not, my intervention in this story has introduced an error in the plot.

And isn't the core of that error standing before my very eyes?

Vivian and Theodore.

Their relationship changed.
The two did not grow up to be adults with the terrible personalities described in the novel.

Theodore did not feel lonely and empty after the death of the emperor. The day of the funeral wasn’t even as severe as it could be.

Because we were by his side.

“Your Majesty.”

I didn't have to feel guilty about distorting the story in the book.

The original story, the plot, or anything having to do with either didn’t matter to me anymore.

This is now my reality and the world I live in. These were the people that I wanted to protect.

“Please look at this.”

I held out a document over Theodore's desk.

It was just a very thin sheet of paper and Theodore read it quickly.

As looked it over, I provided an additional explanation.

“I don't know exactly where in SouthTerrian this is, but this is an appeal from a city called Cheritira, some distance away from Terrian.”

“Ah…”

Theodore must have realized something too.

In fact, Theodore's eyes were gradually distorting as he read the papers again.

Theodore quickly took a map and spread it out on the desk. And he pointed to a location with his fingertips.

Silence passed.

I asked Theodore, who was pondering something.

“Isn’t there something strange about this?”

Only then did Theodore raise his head with a deeply furrowed brow, as if he fully understood what I was saying.

“It is very strange.”

The contents of the appeal were as follows.

The appellant was a permanent resident living in Cheritira, but he’d been unable to live in peace because a sandstorm had been blowing for close to a week.

Looking at this alone, you might think that Cheritira was located wihtin a desert, but Cherity was, in fact, not a desert city.

“Although Cheritira is a city located somewhat near the desert, there’s definitely some distance from it. I have never heard of anything like this even when my father was alive.”

Of course, there was no way this could have happened while the previous emperor was alive.

That is because this was a catastrophe that happened only once every 200 years in Terrian.

The south of Terrian, Southern Terrian is a desert territory ruled by the 'Grey' duchy.

There, a huge sandstorm occurs once every 200 years, and this year was the time it was due again.

Because it only occurs once every 200 years, very few people remember it. Memory tends to deteriorate over time.

This is why it was necessary for me to come forward and explain this phenomenon.

“I’ve read about this in a book before. About the huge sandstorms that spawn in Southern Therian once every 200 years. The book said it was a sandstorm big enough to swallow everything.”

“Swallow everything?”

“Yes, to the extent that it reaches the center of the empire.”

As soon as he heard me, Theodore nervously pushed back his bangs.

It must be resolved quickly so that neither Theodore's reputation, nor that of the empire, would be damaged.

But this wasn’t something that could be easily solved because it was a very complicated process.

The dukes of the Helios Empire were not great nobles in name only.

They had an obligation to protect the empire from frozen wastelands, deserts, and jungles.

It was an agreement that had been handed down since the empire was created. In exchange, the emperor gave the dukes autonomy over their regions.

That's why even members of the imperial family couldn't enter the dukedoms at will.

“In terms of how long it took for the appeal to be delivered to the imperial palace, it must have been quite a while. If we send an official letter now and wait for the duchy’s reply…”

“It will be very late.”

In fact, what I discovered now was discovered much faster than in the original story.

However, if we wait until we receive cooperation from the duke, the story will proceed without much difference from the original story.

I had to find another way to shorten the response time.

“Does a way to come to mind?”

“Not yet…”

Theodore and I kept our mouths shut. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer.

Then, as if Vivian was determined to break the silence, she loudly shouted.

“Excuse me! Everyone! May I say a word as well?”

Vivian raised one hand.

She even smiled and laughed as though the situation was great fun.

“I've been listening to this story the entire time. I feel like I have a way to get into Terrian.”

Vivian was full of confidence. She straightened her shoulders and even lifted her chin.

I couldn't believe it so I just blinked my eyes.

Theodore slammed his hands on his desk and stood up.

Then he asked out loud.

“Do you really have a way!”

Vivian pressed her small hand to her heart as if she was startled by the loud sound of Theodore banging on the desk.

Glancing at Theodore, she dutifully answered him.

“I do indeed have a way. Do you know how many invitations pour into the Marigold family every day, right?”

Marquis Marigold. It was well known that all sorts of invitations poured into the family of this enormous tycoon.

Some managed to reach the family itself, but it was not easy to reach Vivian specifically, who was called the flower of the social world.

The unmarried Vivian, who was loved by Marigold, had not been engaged even though she had reached adulthood.

It was only natural that every family with an unmarried man would target her.

“Recently, an invitation came from the Gray duchy. Of course, I will also be able to bring a companion to escort me.”

Ah! This was it.

Fearing that Theodore would agree to escort her, I quickly jumped ahead.

“Your Majesty, I will accompany Vivian there.”

Vivian exclaimed, “Really? I absolutely love this idea!”

Theodore turned to me.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and looked at me as if to ask 'Why are you trying to go there?'

It was an expected reaction.

So, I grinned, pointed at his desk, and said “Shouldn't you be doing your job, Your Majesty? Do you really not trust me?”

“That’s not it…”

“Then, I'll spend some time with Vivian, and Your Majesty will finish taking care of the rest of the work here in the imperial palace.”